>> subzero temperatures have the nation locked in an icy grip. the hampg winter weather blamed on more than -- harsh winter weather blamed on 20 defendants. republicans and democrats playing let's make a deal, trying to find a way to continue unemployment benefits. why gates is taking aim at the white house in a new tell-all book. >> it's a little bit of income that we have, if it leaves, where are we at. >> stretching every dime to make end meet. how the working poor are barely getti getting by. sh

>> good morning and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. the icy temperatures encasing the country are having a deadly impact. the brutal weather is blamed on 21 deaths nationwide. tuesday was one of the coldest january days for much of the u.s. while some spots are getting a break, warming up a little, for other places the cold is coming. the much-typed polar vortex blanketed much of the nation with freezing temperatures. some areas were colder than antarctica, and it pinched the deep south, where you don't often need winter coats, hats and gloves. the atlanta metro area set a low of 6 degrees. the cold killed a 70-year-old homeless man, frozen to death. the temperatures dipped to 6 degrees in charlotte, north

carolina. it broke a low of 12 degrees in 1884. the mercury plummeted to 30 degrees. >> erica, it is slightly less cold today. >> yes, tuesday broke a century-old record of 6 degrees back in 1896. yes, 1896. it's not so bad today. it's still really cold. we are in the single digits at 9 degrees in new york city. we are in front of penn station, which is a transportation hub for new yorkers in and out of the city. we see a lot of folks headed to work and they are just as bundled up today as they were yesterday and it's the same scenario across the country with freezing temperatures recorded in every state except hawaii.

>> most of the nation is still dealing with icy-cold conditions. with freezing temperatures reported in every state except hawaii. the arctic air may be easing slightly. it's little relief for 190 million americans suffering through it. especially those who need to be outside. >> just wear a lot of layers. good shoes, try and stay warm. >> you can't play with the weather. you'd die. >> he is one of many braving the whipping winds and bone-chilling cold that has shattered temperature records. >> i should have stayed home. >> like new york city, where it fell to 5 degrees, a low not seen since 1896. >> and just north of the city near the pennsylvania border, white out conditions with zero visibility closing highways

along a 130 mile stretch. it's not better across the country. in indiana hundreds forced to pull over on roads deemed too dangerous m black ice got the better of this car, as it toppled off a bridge, the driver escaping without injury. >> as for airports, a third-straight day of delays and cancellations. crews continued to take on what looked like a losing battle of deicing planes and clearing run ways. inside the terminal not much relief for passengers. on the streets a change for police getting home. there are people on the bridges now. they'll be there all night and were probably there last night and tomorrow too. >> we have been calling a lot of places all day long. >> running there. >> running there, here, finding a place. it's been a long day. >> overnight in minneapolis the

temperature got down to minus 3 degrees, keeping workers busy with pipes bursting and furnaces failing in areas where some of the coldest temperatures have been recorded. you can't do it. >> the deep south is not immune. atlanta saw 6 degrees and it was below freezing in florida. beach goers ditching bathing suits. >> we are not prepared. >> now, down south in atlanta they had to shut a 200 foot ferris while because of the freezing temperatures. it's worse in chicago, where snow drifts that are frozen are shutting down, train tracks or antrack stranded 500 passengers overnight. >> i can hear the wind gusting outside there too. erica pitzi braving the cold in new york city. thank you. >> you heard the, "press when hell freezes over", they said it

would never happen. apparently it did. the tiny town of hell michigan saw temperatures plummet to minus 9 degrees, with the wind chill factored in, it felt like 37 below zero for the 600 that called hell michigan home. the devil is in the detail m for more details, let's bring in nicole. >> we had record lows and record high lows, and that has people confused. you can have a low high. we didn't set any of those. each day, atlanta, where we see improving conditions, you have the day-time high. today being 42. the overnight low of 27. if they get in ranges that are either so warm or so cold that that has never happened before on that day, then you set a record. yesterday in some of these

cities in georgia, we set record lows. but the high temperatures were so cold it was the codest warmth we had on that day. so before in athens, 30 colombus and makin, 34 and 35 respectively, they had been the chilliest or warm part of the day. each of those hitting 29 set a record. the definition is we get a lowest out of site. when you happened in reverse, that can set a record as well. >> not looking like as many records. we have chilly temperatures with the wind chill as we get into the north-east. philadelphia feeling like minus 1. the other thing we'll watch as the system comes out as we get into the northern areas is with the cold air, and a little bit of moisture and the southern plains. there could be slight areas of

freezing precipitation. there's another system in the north-west which is dry. that could cause problems. >> more on the temperatures in a couple of minutes. >> the freezing cold brought renewed attention to the dangers of exposure to the elements as ashar quraishi tells us that frost bite and hypothermia can happen quickly. >> there are some chores that need to be done. but with dangerously cold temperatures authorities warn for days that being outside is a risky proposition. 20-year-old anishia evans learnt how quickly things can go on. >> i had everything i needed to keep warm, >> but no gloves. >> no gloves. >> within minutes of being in subzero temperatures, her uncovered hands from frozen with frost bite. when she made it in from the cold her hands felt worse. the heat touching my skip was

like needles, it's unbearable. i couldn't waist no time. >> the next morning her fingers were swollen, covered in blisters, sending her to the emergency room. severe frostbite can cause blisters, gan green and damage to tendons, muscles nerves and bones. if blood vessels are affected the damage is permanent. >> the big problem is when we thaw it. you get ice crystals in the cells and it breaks the cells and the tissue is lost. >> the university of chicago medical center treated 17 cases of frost bite. >> for this girl the progress is slow. doctors are confident she'll have a full recovery and hopes her painful experience will warn others. if staying inside is not an option. doctors say any ex-post skin can

be susceptible. wear water prove and wind prove clothing and mittons, not gloes gloves. the consequences could be a trip to the hospital. >> 190 million americans, and at its worse point all 50 states saw freezing points, including hawaii. >> a man has been identified killed in an avalanche. anxie anxiety -- anthony sebert, the grandson of peter sebert. it's the fifth death. >> a deadly u.s. military helicopter crash. four members were killed when the chopper went down.

a quarter mile area was cordoned off. it went down in a bird sanctuary on the east of norfolk. it's not clear what caused the accident. >> gates is taking aim at his old boss, president obama in an ex-closive and candid book. we take a closer look at the tell-all. >> at the end of 2009, u.s. president barack obama told the nation emphasise tile to renew the fight against the taliban in afghanistan. >> i determined it's in our interest to send 30,000 troops to afghanistan. after 18 months our troops will begin to come home. >> behind closed doors obama's former defense secretary said the president waffled about fighting a war. >> gates , who served during the president say of bush accused

staffers of undermining the resolve by criticising the commander, general david pet ray us, afghan president hamid karz karzai, and the idea of a troop surge: >> u.s. news reports about gates' memoires suggest the book is as much about settling scores as about establishing a record of his 45 years in government. gates also has harsh words for vice president joe biden. a man considered by many to be a foreign policy expert. >> i think he has been wrong on every major foreign policy and national security issue. >> gates accuses white house staffers of micromanaging. he admitted that he at first was opposed to the raid that led to osama bin laden's death in may 2011. some observers that the

frankness should not be a surprise. >> former secretary gates says he knows he will never serve in washington. he served hon orably in the administration in both sides of the aisle. everyone who screghted bob gates before he was selected at the jobs knew what he was getting. late on tuesday, a white house spokesperson called biden one of obama's advisors. given that he was retired, it is possible he doesn't care what anyone thinks, even a president whose intellect gates says he admires. >> the white house did release a statement in response to gates' book highlighting the trust in biden. it reads in part "the:

>> florida republican trey raidel is on capitol hill after a stint in drug rehab, his political future is uncertain after admitting to a problem with cocaine. a g.o.p. interest group raised more than a million dollars in the interests of removing him. kreigle announced his candidacy on the first day of rayingal said return. >> three years ago today gabby giffords was sho. the shooter killed six people in that afac and is serving seven consecutive terms. gifford wrote an oped piece. she writes:

>> millions of americans living pay check to pay check - wee l we'll look in a special series on the working poor. breaking free from antarctica's icy grip. two ships stuck in ice for weeks finally make a move. >> baseball's hall of fame to open its doors wider than usual. >> and john seigenthaler goes one on one with funny man sfooeften colbert. >> they offered me a chance to answer a news cast focussing on serious news, indepth journalism, unbias reports. >> come on. >> fact based news. >> come on o, this is al jazeera.

>> coming back with a live look at the white out conditions in buffalo new york. it's 6 degrees there, not too bad. but the wind is blowing. good morning, welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. just ahead we are shining a

spotlight on the working poor. americans who have jobs and are struggling to support their families, part of a seerieses worry calling the war on poverty. >> nicole mitchell is back. >> slow improvement is what we have seen. not so far in the negatives. in the south this morning, 17 in atlanta, versus the record 6 degrees. this is a little midder and single digits. temperatures for the rest of the day below average for most places. one exception is a lot of west and south-west. we have not been as impacted with all the cold air. this is wednesday. i'm going to laep frog to friday to talk about the pattern change. there's a high pressure sucking in the cold air moving off on the backside of this. everyone has been asking me for good news and some relief.

look at these temperatures. everyone on the map except phoenix has gone up by friday, well above zero. minneapolis 22. back to the 80s for miami. it is getting better. >> i'll give you credit for that. >> two ships trapped in heavy ice in antarctica are free. the russian research vessel that has been tracked and a chinas ice breaker are heading towards open water. the captains of both ships took advantage of cracks in the ice. most of the passenger were helicoptered to safety. the crew stayed behind. a u.s. coast guardship is heading to the area to offer help if needed. >> this week marks the 50th anniversary of lyndon johnson war on poverty. there has been some progress to bridge the economic divide. there's a long way to go.

one in six americans today lives below the poverty line. that's nearly 50 million people. we visited a poor neighbourhood to see what is being done to hep people in need. >> according to the wilson family, surviving requires a shuffle. paying some bills, delaying others. >> there's a little income, if if leaves, where are we at. will i be at the door, out the door with my kids. >> 32-year-old olisia wilson is a single working mum. she's a medically certified assistant but cannot find work in her field. so she's waitresses. >> i'm discouraged. when i look at my kids i can't get discouraged. she ways $135 a month for her

public housing apartment. she shares is with her daughters, 4 through 10, and her fiancee. wilson did not grow up in public housing and doesn't want this to be more than a brief pitt stop on the way to a better life for her daughters. they life in the liberty city section of mim a, a poor and dangerous neighbourhood. full of families with similar dreams, colliding against harsh realities of their surroundings and circumstances. >> sell illia is a symbol to wilson and the other families of what is possible. she lived a life of poverty and broke the cycle. she runs a nonprofit. she says 50 years after the war on poverty, the battle rages for too many. >> people do not have the courage or will to address the changes of these urban communities. we have allowed ourselves to be

okay with saving some and not all. >> in the last year miami children's initiative built a playground and pushed the city to re-pay a main road and planned trees. this block by block approach is designed to show people that they matter. importantly, it is to kids get the ticket out of poverty - a college education. >> children can do everything. if every community commence it and says on our block, on these streets, this community, our children will be the future, not the ones at the bottom, we'd see a dramatically different world. >> as for wilson and her family life became tougher. her hours were reduced. unable to afford gas, she was forced to quit. >> one of the many challenges faced by those living below the poverty line, finding affordable

housing. we look at that and visit a housing project in san francisco. >> secretary of state john kerry says the u.s. is united with south korea in opposing north korea's nuclear and ballistic missile program. kerry met with his south korean counterpart. >> we will not accept north korea as a nuclear state, nor as a nuclear armed state, and nor will the international community abide by that. i assure foreign minister that we remain committed to the defense of public korea. >> there are 28,000 troops stationed in south korea. next month 800 additional troops and 40 tanks and armoured vehicles will be sen. >> basketball hall of famer dennis rod maup is in north korea to take part in a game featuring 10 other stars. cup is expected to attend -- kim

jong un is expected to attend the game, head in honour for his birthday. rodman is taking heat. he appeared to crack under pressure during an interview with cnn >> what the hell you think. look at the guys. look at them. 10 guys here. 10 guys here have left their families, to help this country as a sports venture. today's game has been focted by recent event in north korea. a recent sponsor withdrew its support after kim jong un ordered the execution of his uncle, a top north korean official. >> today's baseball hall of fame announced members. >> jeth is here with more on sport. great to see you. >> good morning. it is one of the most discussed

days in baseball and a controversial at 2:00 p.m. easter times. the writer will release the results of the 2014 hall of fame vote. i feel safe if saying they'll vote in more players than they did last year, when they didn't deem any of the candidate ready. a lot of guys look to be deemed worthy. it's the first time since the first class in 1936. five players have a chance of getting 75% of the votes getting in. after viewing 176 ballots, it's believed that first-time candidates are shoe-ins. mike piazza is hovering around the 75% mark. jack moore looks to be short on his 15th and final mere. he had 6 #% last year.

roger clemens, mark mcgwire, raymond palmeiro, and mark mcgwire have no shot, tainted by performance enhancing blood allegations. >> on the hard wood. it was a match-up of the top five, big 10 teams, hosting number three ohio. the spartans looking to hand the buck eyes their first of the season. building a 16-point lead midway through the second half. ohio state stormed back making 58-all where 7 of the game-high 20 was scored. 18 off the bench. 72-68 win, snapping the buck-eyes. >> in the big east virginia tech hosting an undefeated sarah cues much the arrange men making the most of their return, debting 17 points and using a 16-0 run in

the second half. 72-52 win. sarah cues is 15 and 0 for the first time in the last four seasons. >> to the n.f.l., jeff ireland is out in miami, handpicked by bill to pick the dolphins, things were broken under ireland's watch, encouraging an environment ripe for bullying and led to the scandal that gripped the organization this past fall. he presided over one play-off appearance. last off season he spent more than 200 million only to see the team drop the last two games to finish at eight and eight. it was nearly a year ago when lindsey vonn tore two ligaments in her right knee, suffering a broken bone during the february world championships. she'd been on the koment back trail -- comeback trail, but a series of setbacks will keep her from defending her medal.

lindsey vonn retore the acl in november, and two weeks later sprained her mcl during a training event. she'll undergo a surgery and intends on being 100% wealthy in her home town of vaile. >> too bad to see lindsey vonn out. it won't be the same olympics without her. >> the deep freeze has been snarling air traffic all week. the chain reaction. thousands have been affected. how soon the country's stockpile will be destroyed. >> cops and firefighters in new york city, suggesting they suffered physical and mental anguish. why videos like this led to dozens of arrest. looking at a guiser in atlanter. look at the ice -- atlanta, look

at the ice on the powerlines from the watermain break there.

>> welcome back, i'm stephanie sy. >> most of the nation is waking up to a third-straight day of frigid temperatures. tuesday's conditions crippled transportation in the air and on the road. while temperatures are expected to warm up, it will not come soon enough by the many millions affected by the snow. >> the view from above captures it perfectly. chicago, a city frozen in place. officials cancelling school. m minneapolis, dramatic video of a car car eening off a bridge, the driver walking away with injuries m elsewhere workers put

in long hours to put in long hours. >> you can't do it. >> the polar vortex held tight to the midwest, spreading to other parts of the country. all states recording freezing temperatures. >> for millions the cold meant a travel nightmare. aaa responding to calls for assistance. i 65 and indiana turned into a parking lot. >> in a soggy situation, at the airport in washington, when a pipe purs. delays in cancellation in the deiced planes and run ways. nighting what some felt was a losing battle. >> reporting from chicago where schools will reopen today.

>> a huge number of airline passengers remains stranded due to snow, ice and lows. on tuesday, roughly 2700 flight were cancels and 6300 delayed. which tracked airline activity. 420 detarting flights were cancelled. the most in the us. joins us now to discuss how airlines were dealing with the nightmare is contributor, and newton massachusetts. mr curtis, great to see you. what kind of chain reaction occurs when a flight is cancel. >> it depends on the flight in that airline. for example, a lot of the airlines, especially the larger ones use what is called a hub and spoke system. instead of flying from one state to another nonstop a lot of flights would stop intervening city. chicago or dallas. so if it's a flight that it is

going into a hub and spoke city, one cancellation could affect several different flights, because the passengers would no longer have a connection to the next city. >> a lot of hubs are in the north-east. if they were themselves affected. did we see more widespread cancellations due to the weather event than before, because of the hub and spoke system, and the other way that airlines do" in scheduling. >> that's correct. the airline, even the medium sized are a system. that is anything that affects one part of the system may have a cascading effect throughout. a few days ago there were problems in new york with icy run ways, run ways closed because of an incident. that had such an effect that jetblue, that plus the weather, led them to holding all flights for 17 or 18 hours, until everything was straightened out again. >> new faa rules went into

effect the day of the storm, requiring rest for the pilots. >> jet blue was one that cited it was one of the additional problems they faced. do we know the impact those rules may have had on travel, combined with the weather. >> jetblue mentioned it as a factor. how much it was remains to be seen. as we saw from this week, several things happened in several parts of the country. the new rules, which the airlines had two years to prepare for were a part of that. certainly it's not the only cause of delays we saw with multiple airlines and cities. >> you, yourself had a flight cancel. what's the best thing for a passenger to do when they face cancellation. >> the best thing to do is something such. that is to be aware of what is going on. if you know there's going to be

weather delays because of problems with airlines is to get there early. if you know your flight might have a problem, get to the airport ahead of time. give yourself the opportunity to make alternative plans. make yourself available to any notification system - phone calm, text or email so you may have advance warning of a problem. >> todd curtis, al jazeera transportation contributor, thank you for joining us. >> senate debate is under way to extend long-term unemployment benefit. if the bill makes it through the senate it could face a tougher battle in the house. we have a story of one woman who depends on the government help. >> december 29th will be the last pay check. >> when ter ease thinks about the future, it brings her to tears. three days after christmas she

got the bad news, her extended unemployment benefits would stop before the new year. congress are enjoying themselves on vacation. you have people, you know, wondering how will they put food on the table or pay their rent. >> she is among 1.3 million investing in 6.5 billion taken to extend benefits for an additional 37 weeks. for 14 months can you rely on the government for $375 a week. $1500 a month, money going towards feeding her family, caring for her elderly mother and paying for her prescription drugs. >> i suffer with high blood pressure. being stressful and not working and looking for employment, that's very stressful. >> she was laid off in

october 2012. she is was an executive assistant at a nonprofitable organization, a job she held for 11 years. the search for the next job turned into a search for a new career. >> i see that now by being unemployed for so long. a lot of time you say, "i have the experience to do this, and there's so many jobs in my field, why am i not being called?" >> if benefits are extended for connolly and long-term unemployed, it's a short-term solution. >> last month 1.3 million americans lost their unemployment benefits. the bill before the senate extends them for three months at a cost of 6.5 billion. >> at least 9 passengers are dead after fire broke out on a passenger train in west india. the flames swept through three

sleeper coaches before it was put out. authorities are trying to determine what caused the fire. it's the second train fire in the country in the last two weeks. the last killed 26 people. accidents are common on a network carrying 20,000 dangers. >> most collisions and fires are blamed on for maintenance. >> the organization tasked with destroying the chemical stock mile confirmed syria's chemicals left aboard a danish vessel. others will be transported by ground to la tackia. the u.n. missed a deadline citing technical issues. all weapons are still expected to be destroyed by june. >> the trial of egypt's former president has been postponed.

mohamed morsi was scheduled to appear in court. egyptian state tv reports that his trial has been adjourned until january 31st. mohamed morsi couldn't make it to court because of poor weather conditions. bernard smith joins us from doha. remind us what the charges against mohamed morsi are. good morning. mohamed morsi faces a list of charges. the most serious is he incited the killing of protesters who gathered outside the presidential palace in december 2012, and were protesting against a presidential decc ree, giving himself sweeping powers. the consequence of the process, 10 were killed. it's the most serious charges that mohamed morsi faces, charges that carry the death penalty. >> so the trial has been adjourned today again. can you tell us more about that. what weather conditions are they

referring to? >> well, we are told mohamed morsi's being held in a prison system near the mediterranean city of alexandria. we were told there was fog, and it prevented the helicopter from taking off. the prison is 60km, 50 miles or so from alexandria. the weather was clear from the pictures we received. fog further down the coast. we were seeing live pictures from the police academy in cairo, where mohamed morsi and 14 other muslim brotherhood defendants were due to go - to appear. nothing happened because of that weather, and so we wait until february 1st, when mohamed morsi and his colleagues are due in court again. >> we'll follow the story. bernard smith reporting from doha. >> the south sudan government says it is clothing in on a hotly contested city held by

rebel forces. in a matter of hours the army will announce they have reclaimed bore. rebels attacked the city and have been in control of it. as the fighting continues, there's many that escaped the violence, among them missionary. they were forced to leave behind a group of orfans they'd been caring for. >> when we made it to the base the children said, "momma kim, is this your first time to hear bullets like this one." i said, "of course it is, i never lived through anything like that before." they said, "not for me, i've done this many times." rebels and a government delegation started peace talks in ethiopia on tuesday. they are hoping to broker a ceasefire to broker violence that killed 1 thoz people. bosses at a good inform year tyre factory in france are free.

workers held who senior executives captive to demand higher wages, it could add to concerns about doing business in france, where labour unions have strong influence over workers. >> members of the n.y.p.d. are finding themselves on the wrong side of the law, being arrested for faking mental illness and cashing in on the 9/11 attacks. >> it's a scam costing taxpayers close to $100 million. cops, firefighters are charged with falsely claiming to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, making them unable to work, and, instead, cashing in federal disability checks. >> i can only expression disgust. >> four ring leaders, four

lawyers and two cops, helped suspects to lie and fake disabilities, half claiming the world trade center attacks, so they could receive pensions total willing tens of thousands. the investigation uncovered evidence like this, a former police officer working as a martial arts instructor while claiming to be ment aunfit to claim jobs. >> another claimed he could not go outside. here he is on a jet ski, and collected $105,000. and another fishing in costa rica. >> many said they could no longer drive or be out of the house. the investigation revealed lifestyles that were different. >> it was discovered many of the officers claiming their injuries was a result of service on 9/11 were not at ground dispeer or on the day of the attacks.

it was a slap in the face to the real heroes, the men or women that risked their lives. >> this man's brother was killed in the attack. >> firefighters and police i know dug on the file to rescue and recover. many are dying from the cancer. it puts a mark against people like that who are dedicated and represent what the fire and police are. >> social security stopped the disability payments to all those charged. now officials are trying to figure out how to get the money back. >> many purchased vehicles and vacation homes. we'll chase down every penny. >> the indictments are the beginning, and another round of arrests could be coming in the next few weeks. >> prosecutors say the average annual payment was between 30 and $50,000. many defendants were collecting retiree pensions from the new

york police and fire departments. >> taking a look at business news. ford ceo alan mulahies, no longer is in the running to take the top job at microsoft. he told the associated press that he would replace microsoft ceo, and he said it was a distraction. >> we'll have fresh clues on the health of the labour market. payroll company releases information. data expected to show steady job gains. get ready for a positive industries surprise. it will be stronger than many expected. it'll be an indicator that consumers confidence and spending was up. and business openers were confident enough to hire more. >> later this afternoon the fed releases minutes from the last meeting which gives insight into

the fed's thinking. >> wall street is signalling a weak start to the day. stocks are lower. the do you starts the day at 16,530. the s&p 500 stands at 1837, and the nasdaq at 4,1503. asian market ending higher. hong kong's hank sending posting a gain in seven weeks. european market are lower after unemployment data in the eurozone shows little improvement. >> hollywood strategy to delay the availability of dvds. digital entertainment purchases doubled in 2013, surpassing $1 billion for the first time. overall home entertainment revenue was below its peak. coming in at 18.2 billion last year. you could call it the great mystery, the shortage. cheesy

snack that craft is not splaj. >> you are the prime-time news anchor for al jazeera america. >> i am. >> okay. who got to you and how? [ laughs ] >> our own john seigenthaler going toe to toe with steven colbert. >> while most of the country is hoping to warm up. the north west coast seeing rain. >> and the sun is just starting to rise behind the capital building. congress is in session. it's a chilly 14 in washington.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america much ahead a featured gadget at the electronics show that could end up in your home. first a look at where the snow and rain may fall. >> meteorologist nicole mitchell is back. >> this section of the country, snow in parts of nebraska, and kansas, and the rain into the north-west. let's look at the area that is going to head south wards.

later today mississippi, arkansas. freezing rain or sleet. watch for that. into the north-west. a record-dry year, portland fifth driest year, rain chances all week long. that's good news. >> back to you. >> they may not be alcoholics, but a new study says 38 million americans probably drink too much. the centres for disease control describes them as binge drinkers. five for men, for for women is considered a binge. the cost of consumption to the u.s. economy is over $200 million when faking into account health care cost. >> doctors seldom ask about patient's drinking habits, which they say can be treated. >> health advocates are marked fifth anniversary of a report on smoking and health, calling for

action to protect people. the report on the addictive power of nicotine and second-hand smoke led to a change in attitude. no single report had as large an influence on public health. since the studies, rates have dropped by 59%. 8 million lives have been saved in the 50 years since the landmark surgeon general report. despite the efforts 42 million americans spoke, according to the p d.c., 5 million die around the globe. >> one of the biggest tech conferences in the world was under way. it featured the hottest gadgets of the future. they were smart watches. they rocked your baby to sleep. international consumer electronic show had 3,000 exhibitors.

jacob ward reports on the conference creating buzz. >> here, it used to be about television. these days all kinds of new companies are coming out of the wood work. robotics companies are here, and new companies. this company maker bod came out of nowhere to be a dominant sport in consumer oriented printing. this is a device debuted. it's the maker bot mini. allowing you to make any object this size. toys for the children. custom parts. it's inventing a new category. it's including a camera. it can live stream what you are printing as you do it. you can share with friends. you can print from any des vice.

it's supposed to be as simply as looking at something. the idea is a new category being invented. it's making a compliance. ces, this show has a few imitation, there's whacky things that may not play out. these inventions are why we came here. today is the second day of ces, which runs through tomorrow. >> with football play offs in full swings, it's a season for xips and dips. craft is warning of a shortage. no further shipments until february. kraft is not giving reason for the shortage. in a manner of speaking al jazeera america has arrived. prime time anger john seigenthaler joined mock right wing commentator steven colbert

on his show last night. as thomas drayton told us colbert gave john some heat, a right of the passage for america's youngest news channel >> from the start stooep colbert pulls no punches. >> that is terrifying. >> honing in on what americans associated with the al jazeera brand. >> this is the network where bin laden used to send his gloating tapes. >> al jazeera america is part of the al jazeera media network. . >> which is part of the alaska airlines media network. >> al jazeera america's prime-time anchor john seigenthaler made the case for the newest kid on the mainstream media block. >> we can bust some myths here. al jazeera america is one of the largest news organizations in the world. we have 71 bureaus, 12 in the united states. we do serious fact-filled

journalism. >> lead story. >> sir yach. >> miley cyrus bleached her eyebrows though. >> al jazeera america set to replace al jazeera on the anning. >> what is the grist, liberal or fair and balanced. >> we just cover the news. it's more about opinion, a lot more sensational and more about celebrity. that is not where this channel is headed. >> at the end of the roast a serious question and answer. >> how do you keep people from being afraid of this? >> all i can do is say watch what we do. i think if they see what we do on the air and the stories we cover. they will - i think they'll understand that we are doing serious news. >> well, john, date [ cheering and applause ] . >> you can catch the interview at colbert nation.com. you can watch john seigenthaler here on al jazeera america week nights at eight and 11am

eastern. >> dell waters looks at the stories we are following for the next hour. >> a record freeze chilling 190 million americans. warmer weather is raising temperatures. >> senate democrat gained enough republican support for the long term unemployment bill. >> and a new tell-all book by robert gates saying that president obama doubted his own strategy. >> i'm nicole mitchell, meteorologist, it's a frigid start. the thaw is on the way. i'll have the forecast. >> del and i are back with you when al jazeera america continues in 2.5 minutes. hearing this i'm sure from patients.

does big pharma impact the doctors in their decision to not offer alternatives to the pill here? >> i think that there is evidence that if you have interactions with pharmaceutical companies, it does impact -- and there's actually pretty good studies based -- that have looked at physician prescribing patterns and interactions with big pharma. i think one of the luxuries i have is i'm in academic medicine, and we have a policy that we don't interact with pharmaceutical companies. so i hope that gives me a better perspective. and i think a lot of these doctors aren't having these conversations with their patients because i have countless patients who come to me and said they have never heard of iud's.

so i think there is some impact of that. we know there's an impact of that. and it makes it challenging, you know, to -- to have a completely unbiased view even though we as doctors like to think we have an unbiased view, there has been evidence that shows that they do impact us in some ways. so i think it's important for us to go out and educate our providers too. there is no one size fits all birth control, and there are a lot of options that work for women. >> we want to take a closer look, are there unique challenges facing women in minority communities when

>> sub zero temperatures have the nation locked in an icy grip, the harsh winter weather blamed for 20 deaths. >> former defense secretary robert gates comes out swinging in a tell all book aimed at the white house. >> playing let's make deal, extending unemployment benefits. >> it's not just about building tractors, it's about building the people who live there. >> he said it's not about building structures. after lyndon b. johnsons war on poverty, is the american dream a lost cause?

>> the icy cold temperatures turning deadly now, blamed on 21 deaths nationwide. tuesday was one of the coldest january days ever for much of the u.s. >> while some spots are getting a break today, warming a little, for other places the cold keeps coming, the cold blanketing the nation. >> parts of the midwest and east actually colder than antarctica. in the deep south, it was a place where you don't usually need a winter coat, hats and gloves, but they had them everywhere. >> atlanta six degrees, authorities say the cold killed a if he didn't-year-old homeless man, who was found frozen to death. >> the temperatures dipping to six degrees in charlotte, north carolina, breaking a 130 year

record of 12 degrees set back in 188 approximate four. >> here in new york city, the mercury dropping to just four degrees, we are in new york this morning. erika, it's not quite as cold as tuesday, but all things are relative. >> yes, definitely relative is the word for it. yeah, not as bad as yesterday, but still really cold, in the single digits, only nine degrees in new york city, but it's the same situation across the country, freeze in temperatures recorded in every single state. >> the arctic air may be easing slightly but that is little relief for nearly 190 million americans suffering through it, especially those who need to be outside. >> just wear a lot of layers, good shoes and trying to stay warm. >> you captain play with this weather, people literally die. >> he is one of many braving the

cold that has shattered records nationwide. >> it is cold. i should have stayed home today. >> like new york city, where it fell to five degrees, not seen since 1896. north of the city near rochester, white out conditions with near zero visibility, stranding drivers and closing major highways along a 130-mile stretch. it's not any better across the country, in indiana, hundred was truckers forced to pull over on roads deemed too dangerous. black ice got the better of this car in minnesota as it toppled off a bridge, the driver escaping without serious injury. >> as for airports, a third straight day of delays and cancellations. crews continue to take on what looks like a losing battle of deicing planes and runways. inside the terminal, there's not much relief for apparentlies.

on the streets, the challenge getting to the vulnerable homeless. >> they'll be there all night and they were probably there last night the when it was colder, and they'll be there tomorrow, too. >> we've been calling a lot of places all day long. >> running here. >> running there, trying to find a place, and it's just been a long day. >> overnight in minneapolis, the temperature got down to minus three degrees, keeping workers busy with pipes bursting where some of the coldest temperatures in the country have been recorded. >> you can't leave people out in it, you can't do it. >> atlanta saw six degrees and it was blow freezing in some parts of florida. beachgoers ditching bathing suits for sweatshirts. >> we're not used to it, so we're not prepared. >> now, it's cold for animals, as well, of course people taking care of their pets, but even at the zoos they're bringing

animals in. in chicago at the lincoln park zoo, they had to take the polar bear inside, because he's not in the wild. >> that is saying something. erika braving the cold for us in new york city. thank you. let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> so cold they're bringing in the polar bears, of all people. >> i want to oh ask about taking care of the animals, both you and your outdoor animals can dehydrate even more than in the summer, so keep everyone with plenty of water out there. current temperatures this morning, we're still seeing negatives in northern parts of the midwest, not as cold or likely to set records this morning in the south, but it is still definitely chilly. monday, we set over 150 records. yesterday, 50 officially that i've seen so far, but they are still coming in since the day ends at midnight. i wouldn't be surprised if those are in the triple digits, but each day we have high and a low.

you can have for the cold temperatures both the coldest cold and the warmest cold, and the same thing for the high, so there's actually four different records that we look at temperature wise each day. some say how could we have a record cold high. it means the record part of the day was so cold, you never had a day that cold before, the lowest maximum is out of sight. we set a number of those records yesterday, athens, columbus and macon not only the lowest lows with temperatures in the single digits, but the highs for the day, all of those 29 degrees, and that was so cold as a high temperature, it beat all these records going some cases back over 100 years. today, milder for the so you, that's some great news and a trend for the country is going to be to slowly warm up, so that's one thing we'll watch. we'll talk about the temperatures coming up. we have another system pushing into the northwest bringing some really beneficial rain, so we have a couple of different good

stories, as we get out to today, trying to find that silver lining where i can. back to you guys. >> nicole, thank you very much. tens of thousands of people in new york city have no place to call home and the now the homeless situation dealing with that near zero-degree weather. we look at their nightly struggle just to survive. >> it's a full house at the mission for the homeless. in extremely cold conditions, the shelter opens its dining room and chapel to accommodate demand. temperatures fell to five degrees, the shelter took in 179 people. >> matt helps run the mission, but not before struggling with addiction and homelessness himself. >> you're already dealing with guilt and shame. many years that i fought it off and i tried to do it on my own, but there were folks out there that approached me in a way that i didn't feel bad about where i was at. >> new york's homeless population has been steadily growing and now is at record

levels, figures not seen since the great depression in the 1930's. every night, shelters take in around 55,000 people. that number includes 22,000 children who suffer most in extreme weather. >> churn can't go to school. they can't go get a lot of their males which they get provided at the schools, so that starts to pressure a family's budget. >> a parallel decline in affordable housing and low income wages in new york is blamed for the increasing homelessness. domestic violence and mental illness are also considered contributing factors. >> the city's new mayor has been in the job for less than a week, already making policy changes where at least one advocacy group says will impact hundreds of thousands of people. >> bill deblasio reinstated a code blue policy, guaranteeing shelter to anyone when have the temperature drops blow freezing

for more than three hours. people can by pass the normal registration process. the number of out reach van that is search the streets for the homeless has also increased. >> i ask the people of new york city if you see a homeless person in distress, if you see someone who needs help, please call 311. >> in the u.s. there's officially another two and a half months of winter left, but the chilly conditions can last much longer. without a roof over your head, it can seem much colder. aljazeera, new york. >> if you're about 700 homeless people freeze to death in the u.s. >> those two ships trapped in the heavy ice in antarctica have broken free. the research vessel and the chinese ice breaker that tried to rescue it are now headed to open waters. the captains of both ships taking advantage of cracks in the ice last night. most of the packages onboard the russian ship were helicoptered to safety last week but the crew stayed behind, the u.s. coast guard ship headed to the area to

offer help if needed. >> the white house is responding this morning to a new memoir by former defense secretary robert gates. the book is a candid wrap up of his four decades in washington. he openly questions president obama's leadership and commitment to the afghanistan war. he writes: >> gates also criticized congress and the bipartisan atmosphere in washington. he writes: >> the white house released a statement in response reinforcing the president's trust, saying:

>> the trial of egypts former president has been postponed, mohamed morsi scheduled to appear in a courtroom today, but bad weather prevented his transport to court. he and 14 other members of the muslim brotherhood are accused of inciting the killing of protestors. that trial is expected to resume now on february 1. morsi is egypts first democratically elettinged penalty, removed by the egyptian army last july. >> the south sudanese government i guess closing in on a city held by rebel forces. the army will announce they have retaken the city in hours. the rebels took the city and have been in control of it since. talks between the rebels and a delegation in south sudan hope to broker a ceasefire. at least 1,000 people have died in more than two weeks of

violence. 200,000 people have been driven from their homes. >> three years after the nuclear disaster in japan, the look at the men charged with cleaning up the radioactive material. >> how soon will that radioactive waste reach of the shores of the sufficient, california officials taking m to make sure the seafood and water are safe. >> john siegenthaler goes one-on-one with steven colbert. >> they offered me a newscast, serious news, unbiased reports. >> oh, come on! this is aljazeera! >> and $10 billion, that is our big number of the day, what it means for one giant retailer with a declining revenue base.

and in those cases where formal education isn't feasible because of the security situation insi

>> 2013 was not a banner year for tech giant apple, but today's big number shows the company is still going strong, $10 billion, that's the amount of money people spent in the app store last year.

>> apple had sales of $1 billion in december alone, but the company only pockets about $3 billion of that revenue. developers making those apps take home the other $7 billion, but putting it in perspective, the company made a staggering $9 billion alone from iphone sales in those 12 months ending december, so apps just taking a bite. >> welcome back to aljazeera america. just ahead, african migrants taking to the streets to call pour more rights and respect. >> first let's find out how cold it is going to be where you are in the nation today. we turn to nicole mitchell. >> still definitely chilly temperatures, minus 13 is what it feels like in minneapolis and similar in the northeast, temperatures in some cases single digits, a little wind, feeling below zero. through the rest of the day, a lot of places warming slightly from where we were at yesterday. i'm going to jump to friday, by

pass thursday, because as high pressure moves off, we'll get on the backside of that and finally get a southerly flow versus northerly flow, as you can that go cold air in and all these temperatures across the bored are going up significantly, so the northeast back into the 40's. look at minneapolis, we started the week with with 50 below zero wind chills by this weekend, we'll be in the 30's, so that feels like an 80-degree spread. i bet some people will be in tee shirts out there. back to you. >> i can't wait to see them. >> authorities have now identified that man who died in an have a large in colorado, 24-year-old anthony seabrook was skiing off site near veil ski resort when the powder gave way. he is the grandson of one of the town's founders, that death is now the fifth in the rocky mountains and second in colorado just in the last two weeks. >> a deadly u.s. military helicopter crashed in the united kingdom, the four all serving in

the automati u.s. air force wer. the helicopter going down in a birth sanctuary near the east coast england town of norfolk. it is not clear what caused that accident. >> thousands of african migrants in israel are taking to the streets again, demanding better rights from the israeli government. many workers hail from strife ridden countries like sudan, fleeing prosecution and say they deserve refugee status. the israeli government says they are merely economic migrants in search of work. we have followed this story for several days and come to you from jerusalem from the site of a protest. give us the sense of the scale. looks like a lot of people. >> yes, it is an unprecedented demonstration against israeli policies. this park and the parliament is right behind it, this park's

usually associated with israeli protestors. this is the first time we've seen non-israelis protest here and some 10,000 people. there are only about 60,000 far ken migrants in israel, so one of out of every six are right here behind me and what they are saying is that we're refugees, we have fled sudan, aritria, darfur, we flee genocide and dictator ship. with we want refugee status and asylum. israeli say these people are economic workers and call them migrants who are leeching off the israeli government. the israelis want these people to leave and they've made their lives much more difficult, throwing a lot of people in jail. there's a detention facile in the desert here where migrants can be held for a year. they can be thrown into that facility indefinitely in an open facility part of that, so right now, they simply want to be

treated with more respect, want more dignity, want the israeli government to consider them asylum seekers. >> israeli certainly not the only country in that region taking african migrants. saudi arabia expel would more than 100,000 migrants last year. these ones protesting along with work rights, migrant opposing to new law that allows the government to imprison what it says are illegal immigrants. any sign these protests will make a difference there? >> no, absolutely no sign. in fact, israeli prime minister netanyahu has been outspoken in his notion that they are not going to be giving one inch. none of these demands are going to be accepted. in fact, we've followed the leaders of this protest all day and they had an appointment inside the parliament, inside the believe behind me. they were to be met right before they came in, there was a protest with one of those members and they've been denied entry, so there is no sign at all that the government's

willing to listen or change its policies. >> we'll keep following that, thanks, nick. >> three years after japan's nuclear disaster, u.s. officials now warning that leakage of radiation contaminated water could reach our shores this year, last month san francisco passing a measure calling for more seafood testing just in case. in the second part of our series, we bring you the story of those who do the dirty woke behind the scenes. >> this is jay village, what used to be japan's national soccer training center. it's now where workers gather before heading into the fukushima daiichi power plant in the front lines of the on going nuclear disaster. >> the core number of workers that work for tepco are coworkers, not contract workers, but that's a relatively small percentage of the people who work on the power plant. the rest of contractors, subcontractors. >> david mcneil is a journalist

and author, who's followed the polite of these unsung heroes of fukushima. >> they are recruited by the hundreds of subcontractors that have poured in. there's an norm mouse amount of money scattered around. >> very little of ma money actually makes it into the hands of those on the front lines. >> workers tell me they make $100 a day, give or take. the lowest being $60. >> workers say they are given little training on avoiding exposure. a worker who has traveled japan for labor most of his life. he didn't want to be identified for fear of retribution. he was shocked to find radioactive hot spots where he worked, marked with tape, but never decontaminated. the lack of training and protective gear made him fear for his health.

>> we used to wear charcoal filters, but because of the cost cuts, we got dust filters like those you'd buy at a convenience store. employees wear charcoal filters in all locations. >> it sounds as if you're saying that there were different classes of workers. >> tepco is god, the main contractors are kings and we are the slaves. >> i spoke to with a company spokesperson who defended the company's handling of workers. >> isn't this the company's responsibility, after all, these workers are working for you. >> if there are labor practices occurring that vital the law, there's a legal process to remedy those situations. however, it is our responsibility to improve the working environment inside the plant. we've made a lot of prog, but we do aim for an even higher level

of improvement. >> many workers fear they don't have a future because of a system putting profit before safety. >> they used subcontractors to hire us. when our services are no longer needed, i'm among the victims thrown away. >> reporting from fukushima, japan. aljazeera. >> our exclusive investigation returned to fukushima continues this evening on america tonight, taking a look at how radiation now affecting the west coast of the u.s. >> 16 senior police officials in turkey are being eassigned to new posts. the shuffle comes after more than 300 officers were reassigned after the last few days. it's seen as an act of retaliation after law enforcement began investigating a massive corruption scandal.

aljazeera has more from istanbul. >> every few days in turkey, we're seeing action taken by the government against either the police force or the judiciary. in the latest incident, 16 senior police officers from stations around the country are have been recalled to the capitolling oar, not fired, suspended and put on desk jobs. in the previous incident, 350 police officers of various ranks, again, not fired, but reshuffled, relocated to police stations around the country. this all follows the breaking in mid december of an almost unprecedented serious corruption investigation against the government. the allegations go right to the heart of the administration. the government for its part claims that this is an internationally inspired conspiracy, and that it's being conducted by a gang within the state. in effect, the government is fighting back against this. it's applying its own measures against the forces it sees

within turkey as moving against it. the effect has been that the corruption investigation itself has been dramatically slowed down and now we have internal parts of the turkish judicial and police process almost at war within itself. >> reporting from istanbul, turkey. >> taking a look at business news at this hour, less than an hour from now, we'll get a fresh look at the health of the labor mask. that's when the payroll processor releases its report on private sector employment. the data is expected to show steady job gains in december. >> it's driven by an increase in consumer spending and consumer confidence, manufacturing, factory orders are up across the board. it plays into each other. the tock market is up, as well, nearly 30% for 2013. >> later this afternoon, the fed set to release the minutes from

its last meeting, giving us more insight to begin pulling back on that bond buying stimulus program. >> wall street seems to be in a cautious mood ahead of those reports, do you futures down 20 points after yesterday's rally. the dow starts the day at 16,530, the s&p at 4,153. >> ford c.e.o. no longer that in the strong take the top job at microsoft, even those shares are now showing that. he wants to end speculation he might be in line to take over for steve balmer. the shares of microsoft are dropping on that news.

>> bit coin is banned, alibab a a said to begin trading in the u.s. later the this year. >> this week, extending unemployment benefits. >> we're focusing on how the idea of housing projects that change said over the past 50 years. >> they are calling it basketball diplomacy, an unusual birthday gift from his american pal, dennis rodman. >> they were the cinderella darlings of last year's big dance. coming up, ross shimabuku reports on how gulf coast u. plans on being more than a one hit wonder. >> a live look at buffalo, new york, they've been dealing with a lot of snow, and it's eight degrees out there.

real reporting that brings you the world. >> this is a pretty dangerous trip. >> security in beirut is tight. >> more reporters. >> they don't have the resources to take the fight to al shabaab. >> more bureaus, more stories. >> this is where the typhoon came ashore. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. >> al jazeera, nairobi. >> on the turkey-syria border. >> venezuela. >> beijing. >> kabul. >> hong kong. >> ukraine. >> the artic. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. here are our top stories at this hour. most of the nation waking up this morning to a third straight day of frigid temperatures. conditions cripples traps portation on air and roads. schools have been shut down by the hundreds and businesses suffering, as well. forecasters say the worst could be over in the next day or two. >> a key step in the international evident to dismantle syria's chemical weapons, the first batch of chemical weapons has left syria loaded on to a danish ship and will be destroyed aboard a specially designed american vessel. the entire tock pile is pledged to that destroyed by the middle of this year.

>> thousands of african may go grants say they are fleeing prosecution and deserve ref fee status in israel. >> the senate is now debating a three month extension of unemployment benefits for americans out of work for more than six months. as mike viqueira reports, it lab compromise. >> republicans joining 55 democrats clearing the hurdle for those out of work six months or more to get unemployment benefits. >> i can't name a time where americans would rather have an unemployment check than the pride of having a job. >> at a white house event, president obama welcomed the news and hit back at opponents who argue that benefits discourage the jobless from looking for work. >> the long term unemployed are

not lazy. they're not lacking in motivation. they're coping with the aftermath of the worst economic crisis in generations. >> 1.3 million americans saw benefits cut off at the end of december when congress allowed them to expire. >> it's given us this mess that we have in our country. >> republican leaders in both the house and senate say they won't go along until the cost of the extension, $6.4 billion is paid for with cuts elsewhere. >> yes, we should work on shoes to support those who are out of work through no fault of their own, but there's literally no excuse to pass unemployment insurance legislation without also finding way to say create good, stable, high paying jobs and also trying to find the money to pay for it. >> benefits were extended five times under george bush with no strings attached and the rate of long term unemployment now 2.6% is quite what it was during the bush administration. among the republicans pushing an extension, dean heller of nevada

where unemployment is 9%, a full two points above the national rate. >> helping those in need should not be a partisan issue. providing a limited social net is one of the responsibilities of the federal government. >> mike viqueira with that report from washington. speaker boehner said some concessions from president obama will be required for the unemployment extension to pass in the house. he's looking for approval of the excel oil pipeline and expanding exemptions to the affordable care act. >> for more from washington, we are joined from washington, d.c. this morning, good morning. >> good morning. >> republicans argue that extending those benefits takes away a person's incentive to find work, but the president drawing applause when he had this to say yesterday: >> i can't name a time where an american would rather have an

unemployment check than the pride of having a job. >> the crowd there was stacked in his favor, but what was your response to the reaction to that particular statement? >> well, my response would be people who are on unemployment are not really enjoying a lavish lifestyle. it's a pretty tentative week to weekday to day lifestyle where finances are awfully tight. i do think, though, the republicans are on more solid ground when they say it's got to be paid for. i think most americans would agree that if there's more government aid, there's got to be some off sets. >> so you believe that it is a matter of messaging on the part of the republicans that the on that particulars might favor the democrats? >> i think the republicans know that the last thing they want to do is portrayed at heartless or cold or unwilling to help people down on their luck. >> that is how they are actually being portrayed. >> that's how the white house is portraying them and that's going to be a big dynamic for the rest

of the year on things like minimum wage. there are ways to pay for it. i think we're going to see in washington some had ideas, some offsets that would actually pay for this. >> greg, it seems john boehner, the speaker of the house is listening to you. he says that one month ago, i personally told the white house that another extension of temporary emergency unemployment benefits should not only be paid for but include something to help put people back to work. he said to date this president has offered no such plan. what do you make of his remark and do you think of democrats in this case are just playing politics? >> this is an electionor, so everything that you and your viewers and all of us are going to hear for the next several months will be affected by the upcoming election. there is one other dynamic, though, that i think has not gotten enough publicity and that is this economy is starting to accelerate dramatically. we got data yesterday on trade,

kind of ar cane showing a surge of exports, energy exports. you look at the manufacturing sector in this country, and it's growing rapidly. all of the forecasters raised estimates from fourth quarter to three percent or above. if unemployment drops, if we're at 6.5% by the summer, it's going to be harder to make a case that we need continued emergency jobless benefits. >> greg, the world has changed since the last recession, going into that recession, people could go to a job and think they might retire from that place. now the suffering employee will work six, seven jobs before calling its quits. is that the new normal in the u.s. and is today's politics reflecting that? >> i think the politics is reflecting that. the general overall macro

economy is starting to accelerate. i do believe, i'm a centrist and believe a rising tide raises all boats. i think the economy is going to be looking a lot better in six months. >> i'm going to put you on the calendar and we'll talk about it then. greg, thanks. >> this week marks 50 years since president lyndon johnson launched the war on poverty. a major part of that effort was helping people find affordable housing, including housing projects built in cities across the country. decades later, more than 5 million families depend on rental assistance from the government and more than a million families live in public house in unit, managed by some 2300 housing authorities with varying degrees of success. we went to a housing project in san francisco. >> really good so his positive things. >> drew jenkins walks me through

the housing project where he grew up, nor torous for drugs and violence. he showed me where he was wounded in a random shooting 10 years ago. >> shot 13 times with the a.k. and six times with the .12 gauge. >> sunnydale is the largest housing project with about 800 units. at the corn matter, the only retail store we came across, residents had much to complain about. >> you know, the trash build up and all that, that's depressing. you know, the parks are torn out, that's depressing. >> here's the scowled park. if the neighborhood looks forgotten, the city has plans to change that, promising a multi-million dollar repair and development project to create a mixed community with gardens and open spaces, safe homes, green buildings, better schools. the promises go on and on.

the utopia years away. that meanwhile, children continue to play in squallor. >> a housing project in great need and repair could not have been president johnson's vision when he established the cabinet level department of housing and urban development known as hud. >> sunnydale was built for ship yard workers. later under hud, it became public house i can. residents say it remained a pleasant place to live into the 1960's. people could work a job and save money until they had money to leave public housing. president johnson believed it had a right to public need and housing. >> the federal policy was not just about housing people, not just about building structures,

it's about building the people who live there. >> if the goal years ago was for public housing to help families especially african-american ones climb out of poverty, for the residents of sunnydale, the war on poverty had lost its way long ago. >> it's filthy. come on now. >> yeah. >> we shouldn't have to live like that. >> this was president johnson at that historic state of the union in 1964. >> we must as a part of a revised housing and urban renewal program seek as our ultimate goal in our free enterprise system a decent home for every american family. >> decades after that speech, drew jenkins works in the youth center, trying to in still a sense of community. >> your housing, your home is everything. that's where you're supposed to feel safe at. >> for people who live here, that has indeed been the dream but not the reality.

melissa chan, aljazeera, san francisco. >> our coverage on economic inquality in america continues. in the next hour, we'll visit one of the poorest areas of florida to see what is done to help those in need. >> the iraqi army is preparing an offensive to gain control from al-qaeda linked groups. as we report, many families are now leaving their homes, fleeing the fighting. >> these are a few of the hundreds of families looking for safety after days of intense fighting between armed fighters, tribesman and iraqi government forces. women and children again caught up in a conflict they couldn't avoid. >> there was bombing ovary maddy and fighting. we left for fear for the children. >> we are look forego a safe place for the kids. >> and this is what they are trying to escape, the military says it's determined to regain control of the two main cities

in anbar province. for over a week, armed fighters of the al-qaeda linked islamic state have taken control of most of rim ry maddy and fallujah. as the government struggles to regain that control, it's allies including the u.s. have only given assurances of material help. >> i believe we left it in a place where it was capable to move forward. we've enough seen it because of several political issues, internal to iraq, that security situation has now deinvolved into something that is in my mind, concerning. >> the politics remains bitterly divided. the shia led government insists that it is fighting what it calls terrorists. >> the iraqi armed forces will

never withdraw, because they didn't come just now, they were already there. the recent events made the army tackle some terrorist heightouts. >> but the sunnis are animate that it was the sectarian nature of governmentance that led to these deadly divisions. >> the troops participation in civilian issues, which are in fact the responsibilities of local police has created chaos and the situation is out of control. >> as the troops, tribesman and fighters continues to fight for control, the people of anbar continue to suffer. aljazeera. >> according to officials fighting in anbar fighting has killed more than 250 people over the last two weeks. >> secretary of state john kerry says the u.s. is firmly united with south korea in opposition to north korea's nuclear and

missile bliss system programs. he met with his south korean counter part. >> we will not accept north korea as a nuclear state, nor as a nuclear armed state, and nor will the international community abide by that. i assured the foreign minister that we remain fully committed to the defense of the republic of korea. >> 28,000 american troops are stationed in south korea. next month, the u.s. military will send 800 additional troops along with 40 armored tanks and vehicles. dennis rodman is in north korea for a basketball game, held in honor of north korean leader kim jong-un's 30th birthday. rodman has been taking heat for hits efforts in north korea. >> they were the cinderella team of the basketball tourney last year. >> this feel good story of the

town that could has players and fans excited about what to expect this year. we have their next fairytale factor. >> this university has dormitories on the beach. remember the darlings of last year's big dance, the eagles of florida gulf coast university armed the nickname dunk city. more pone, they made an historic run into the sweet 16. we sent ross shimabuku to fort myers to oh find how the eagles are handling success. >> they came from nowhere dropping out of the skies and on to the college basketball team. last season, florida gulf coast university used the ncaa tournament to put dunk city on the map, becoming the first number 15 seed to reach the sweet 16.

now, dunk city is a coveted destination where basketball players step out of their apartments and on to the sand. >> everything here is like a resort, palm trees every where, big new pool with the basketball court in the pool. at the beach out there, it's amazing, something that you can't put anywhere else, really. >> people who have neve been here, a recruit comes in, how do you sell them no. >> take them out to the beach. that's how they got me. >> their cinderella run came to an end against florida and soon after, their coach left to take the same job at u.s.c. >> got a phone call. he signed and then i get a phone call after, we're going to meet in the locker room right now. he told us, but we already all knew by then. >> the open ball screen, ball screen defense. >> florida gulf coast hired kansas assistant who scouted and came up with a game plan to stop

the eagles. >> we had it all sitting on my desk israeli four players return from last year's squad and the coach wants the pliers to remain aggressive and entertain the crowd. >> leading the crowd, junior point guard brent comber. >> i throw a lot of passes that a lot of people wouldn't agree with, but that's the way i play, very emotional and intense. >> he wears his heart on his sleeve and he has got the ink to prove it. >> i wasn't going to get tattoos, but my mom talked me into it. >> he got the tattoo to honor his father. >> i put the clouds around it, put the lung cancer symbol. that's what my dad passed away from. i have everything for my dad on my sleeve. >> he honors his father before every game. >> i have it tucked inside.

it's kind of just paying respect to him, because without him, i wouldn't be the person i am today or player i am today. he coached me growing up. he was tough on me, you know, which you hated at the time, but kind of realized how much i missed that, you know, having him not here, my game, so i kind of play for him and myself, also. >> what makes brett comer happy? >> winning. as long as we're doing well, having a good time with my teammates, that's what makes me happy. >> florida gulf coast currently occupy first place in the one bid atlantic sun conference, so dunk city doing its best so far to punch a second straight ticket to the ncaa opportunity. >> not bad. >> thanks. >> there is more than three he hundred pounds of cocaine found packed inside banana kays in germany. the strugglers accidentally sent the drugs to five discount super markets in berlin. they believe the shipment came

from columbia. the market value more than $8 million, makes it the largest cocaine discovery in berlin in 15 years. you wonder why your kids like those bananas. >> don't go there. from hidden drugs in bananas, the harvest of coconuts in india. >> why the tropical fruit is in such high demand, but not enough people know how to climb the trees to get those coconuts to the market. >> you're the prime time news anchor for aljazeera america. >> i am. >> ok. >> who got to you and how? >> our own john siegenthaler goes toe-to-toe with steven colbert, coming up. >> a warm up for some part of the country and needed rain for others. i'll have your national forecast.

>> an exclusive "america tonight" investigative series

>> welcome back to aljazeera. i'm del walters. >> up next, the high demand for coconuts in india and what the government is doing about it. first, let's look at what

potential precipitation we're looking at today. meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> we're got areas we're watching. not only are we closely eyeing that warm up, but precipitation into the southern plains and another area in the northwest. we'll take a closer look at all that. we're going to see that this area into the southern plains right now, that is snow for parts of missouri, for example, but a little farther gets into some of that air that's warming up tonight. overnight tonight, south missouri through arkansas, east he were oklahoma, that couldn't be a little bit of freezing precipitation, so watch the bridges and overpasses. as you head out tomorrow morning, they could be icy. more moisture for the northwest where a lot of places had record years last year for a dry 2013, so this is actually needed moisture, but watch the mountain passes. back to you guys. >> nicole, thank you very much. >> india lashing out again over one of its diplomats in the u.s.

commercial activities have to be suspend the. diplomatic vehicles will be subject to traffic offenses in retaliation for the arrest of a diplomat charged with filing fraudulent visa documents on behalf of her made. she faces a jam 13 deadline for indictment. >> coconut harvesting is getting more and more sophisticated. >> coconuts are 16 no one mous with the word cara meaning coconut. the trees are every where, but even here, it's still not enough to keep up with demand. at this government-sponsored training camp, locals learn to climb coconut trees with the help of these machines in an effort to increase the number of coconut harvesters and what was

once a job looked down upon is becoming a popular profession. >> in my village, i'm the first one to do this. it's becoming more popular. the traditional way is very hard. one has to climb the trough and sometimes gets injured but with the help of this machine, it's easier and safer. >> it's not simply climbing up trees, but classroom work on maintenance and yoga before one can become a professional coconut harvester. with coconuts available, more trees have to be planted to reach demand. >> this is a new tree, baby tree. >> coconut tree farming is booming. he has farmed here for 25 years, and says previously coconut trees were chopped down to make room for rubber trees, which were more profitable. that trend is reversing on the

coconut trees are back in demand. >> the coconut price is higher. >> supply hasn't risen enough and traders are feeling effects. times are tough at this coconut processing center. >> there's a lot of demand, but we don't have enough supply. >> as farming coconuts becomes more popular, harvesting is also picking up and breathing new life into an old profession. >> the modernization of the trade came after a decline in coconut pickers. younger workers werioning manual labor. >> anchor john siegenthaler shared laughs with steven colbert as a guest on colbert reports. >> that is terrifying. that looks like -- that is not only arabic, it looks like

arabic on fire. it looks like exploding arabic. why shouldn't i be afraid? >> do you know what rance? >> it says the bombing starts at midnight. what does it mean? >> no! it means peninsula. >> how do you keep people from being afraid of this no. >> i can't keep people from being afraid of this and i can't convince people of that. all i can do is say watch what we do and i think if they see what we do on the air and see the stories that we cover, i think they'll understand that we're doing serious news. >> well, john, i think -- [ cheers and applause ] >> i think john held his own there. you can catch john siegenthaler here on aljazeera america week anies at 8:00 and 11:00 eastern time. >> here are some of the stories we are following for you at this hour, that record setting freeze continues to chill 190 million americans, but warmer weather on its way started to raise temperatures across the country.

senate democrats were able to secure enough republican support to end that filibuster of an extension of unemployment benefits but now may not have enough gop votes to pass the bill. former defense secretary robert gates criticizing the whites the house in a new tell owl book, saying the obama administration doubted its own strategy in afghanistan. >> a frigid start in this country today, but the thaw is on the way. >> the aljazeera morning news continues. del walters is back with you in two and a half minutes. thanks for watching. hearing this i'm sure from patients.

does big pharma impact the doctors in their decision to not offer alternatives to the pill here? >> i think that there is evidence that if you have interactions with pharmaceutical companies, it does impact -- and there's actually pretty good studies based -- that have looked at physician prescribing patterns and interactions with big pharma. i think one of the luxuries i have is i'm in academic medicine, and we have a policy that we don't interact with pharmaceutical companies. so i hope that gives me a better perspective. and i think a lot of these doctors aren't having these conversations with their patients because i have countless patients who come to me and said they have never heard of iud's.

so i think there is some impact of that. we know there's an impact of that. and it makes it challenging, you know, to -- to have a completely unbiased view even though we as doctors like to think we have an unbiased view, there has been evidence that shows that they do impact us in some ways. so i think it's important for us to go out and educate our providers too. there is no one size fits all birth control, and there are a lot of options that work for women. >> we want to take a closer look, are there unique challenges facing women in minority communities when

>> sub zero temperatures have the nation locked in an icy grip. the harsh winter weather now blamed for more than 20 deaths. >> republicans and democrats trying to find a way to extend unemployment benefits. >> a former defense secretary starting a war of words, taking aim at president obama in a new tell-all book. >> this little bit of income that we have leaves, then where are we at no. >> stretching each and every dime to make ends meet, how america's working poor are barely getting by.

>> good morning, welcome to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. the icy cold temperatures have now turned deadly, brutal weather being blamed for 21 detectives across the country, tuesday was one of the coldest january days ever for much of the u.s. and while some spots are getting a break today, warming up just a little, for other places, the cold justify keeps on coming. that polar vortex blanketing the nation with temperatures well below zero, some parts of the midwest and east were actually colder than antarctica. in the deep south, it was the scene like this, a place where you don't usually see those winter coats and hats and gloves. atlanta setting a new record low, just six degrees in atlanta. authorities saying the cold there killed a if he didn't-year-old homeless man. he was found frozen to death, the temperature dimming to six degrees in charlotte, north carolina, breaking a record set back in 1884. in new york city, the mercury

dropping to just four degrees in the big apple. erika in new york, a little warmer today, but all things are relative. >> yeah, just a touch warmer, literally we're looking at about nine to 10 degrees right now, and let's talk about that record set just yesterday on tuesday, a century old record set back in 1896. it was six degrees in new york, so today, yes, a little warmer, but it's still freezing. you can see all these new yorkers heading out of pen station going to new york really bundled up and feeling the freeze also is the rest of the country. freezing temperatures reported in every single state. >> the arctic air may be easing slightly, but that is little relief for nearly 190 million americans suffering through it, especially those who need to be outside. >> just wear a lot of layers, good shoes, just trying to stay

warm. >> you can't play with this weather. people literally die. >> he is just one of many braving the whip hadding winds and sub zero cold that shattered temperature records nationwide. >> it's cold. i should have stayed home today. >> in new york city, it fell to dive degrees, a lenot seen since 1896. just north of the city, near the pennsylvania border, whiteout conditions with near zero visibility stranding drivers and closing major highways along a 130-mile stretch. it's not any better across the country. in indiana, hundreds of truckers forced to pull over on roads deemed too dangerous. black ice got the better of this car in minnesota, as it toppled off a bridge. the driver escaping without serious injury. >> as for airports, a third straight day of cancellations.

crews took on a battle of deicing planes and clearing runways under bitter conditions. in the terminal, not much relief for passengers. a challenge to police getting to the vulnerable homeless against a lethal cold on that the streets. >> thole be there all night and were probably there last night when it was colder and they'll be there tomorrow, too. >> we've called places all day long. >> running here, running there. >> running there, running here, trying to find a place. it's just been a long day. >> in minneapolis, the temperature got to mine thus three degrees, keeping workers busy with pipes bursting and furnaces failing in areas where some of the coldest areas in the country have been recorded. >> you can't leave people without heat. >> the deep south is not immune. atlanta saw six degrees and it was below freezing in florida, beachgoers ditching bathing suits for sweatshirts. >> we're not used to it at all, so we're not prepared.

>> well, it is just a bit warmer here in new york city today, it's still freezing. you've got new yorkers headed to work and believe it or not, they're pretty positive about the weather today. that helping? >> yes. >> how much did that help you? >> a lot. >> it helps you a lot? >> yes. >> how cold are you? >> freezing. >> not as cold as yesterday, still single digits. but if you dress warm, you're ok with that so we're used to it. >> it will pass. it's winter. you know? we had a couple of days, it can be 50 by the weekend, and we'll laugh about it next week. >> yes, the weather is going to get a lot better here in new york city. we're looking at a potential of 54 degrees for saturday, so holding out until the weekend, del. >> erika joining us live in new york and yes, we will laugh about it a little later, thank you very much. you probably heard the expression when hell freezes

over. they say it never can happen. panel it did thanks to the cold weather we've been living through. the tiny town of hell michigan seeing temperatures plummet to nine degrees. the wind chill felt like 37 degrees below zero. 600 people call hell home. >> in western new york, a sweeping polar vortex swapping buffalo with a massive blizzard on tuesday. wind gusts up to 30 miles an hour making things almost impossible to get through. the storm also blanketing the city with a foot of snow on tuesday with one area seeing 14 inches of snow. there were flood warnings in some areas because the water mains broke. it was so bad, the hockey team canceled its first game since 2000. a blizzard warning is in effect until 6:00 a.m. this morning, so they have since expired. for a look at the latest temperatures, we turn now to nicole mitchell. a lot of stuff for you to sort out. >> we have a lot of records and since the period of the day ends

at mid note they're still coming in. i would expect over a hundred records set yesterday by the time those different reports come in. we had some that confused people. let's look at a normal forecast, atlanta warming up after the record set yesterday, but each day we have a high temperature and a low temperature, so these ones are forecast, but within that, you can have a high that is your warmest temperature of the day or a high that is so chilly, it's the warmest or it's the coldest high temperature that you've ever had. that's what we were seeing yesterday, so we had some record cold highs or low highs, which really sounds confusing, but it means the lowest maximum temperature a the a site. for all of these sites in georgia, not only did you send a low in the morning for being so chilly, but the afternoon warmed up so little, you set a record cold high. all of these records going back in some cases 20, it this, even 40 years, setting those cold

temperatures. much warmer across the region today, still not an average, but it's a warm up, so we're going to feel that difference and across the country, still a lot of frigid air warming up toward the weekend. while have more on that coming up. the other thing we're watching as all of this clears out, the lingering front still bricking showers to florida and another area that we're watching in the midsection of the country that has the potential especially with a little bit of that warm air intersecting and cold air north of that for freezing precipitation maybe as we get into tonight, then the northwest staying very active with some really needed rain. some places like portland, fifth dryest year on record for 2013 and now we have chances for rain almost every day this week, so there's a lot of good news in that forecast, trying to find that silver lining for you. dell. >> nicole, thank you very much. >> tens of thousands of people in new york city call -- actually they say i have no place to call home and now the

homeless population is dealing with that frigid weather. we take a closer lock at their nightly struggle to survive. >> there are some chores that need to be done, but with dangerously cold temperatures, authorities have been warning for days that being outside is a risky proposition. 20-year-old anitia evans learned how quickly things can go wrong. >> i had everything i needed to keep me warm, but no gloves. >> within minutes of being in sub zero temperatures waiting for a ride home, her uncovered hands were frozen with frostbite and when she made it in from the cold, her hands felt even worse. >> the heat touching my skin was like needles. it was like it hurt it so bad, it'sun bearable, so i couldn't -- i couldn't waste no time. >> the next morning, her fingers were swollen and covered in blisters, sending her to the

emergency room. severe frostbite can cause blisters, began green and damage to tendons, muscles, nerves and bone. if blood vessels are damaged, it can be permanent. >> you get ice crystals in the cells and they break the cells and tissue's lost. >> the university of chicago medical center has treated 17 cases of frostbite. >> i can feel my face. >> progress is slow, but doctors are confident she'll have a full recovery. she hopes her painful experience can warn others. >> just stay in the house. >> but if staying inside isn't an option, doctors say any exposed skin can be acceptable. so wear waterproof clothing and wear mitt tense, not gloves, the consequences otherwise could mean a trip to the emergency room. aljazeera, chicago.

>> each year about 700 homeless people freeze to death in the u.s. >> authorities have now identified a man killed in an have a large in colorado, 24-year-old died during a slide sunday morning. he is the grandson of one of the resort founders. the death is the fifth in the rocky mountain region. >> a deadly u.s. military helicopter crash in the united kingdom, four men all serving the u.s. air force were killed when their chopper went down during a training mission, cordoning off a quarter mile prom the scene, the helicopter going down in the east coast of norfolk. it is not clear yet what caused that accident. >> the senate is still debating the bill to extends long term unemployment benefits for those out of work more than six months. even if the bill makes it through the nat, there is still the house. we have the story of a woman who says she needs the government for help.

>> december 29 will be the last, that will be my last paycheck. >> when teresa thinks about the future, sometimes it brings her to tears. just three days after christmas, she got the bad news. home run extended unemmoment benefits would stop before the new year. >> congress, they're out there enjoying themselves on that vacation, and you have people, you know, wondering how will they put food on the table or pay their rent. honestly, damn them. >> she is among the 1.3 million americans hoping congress will invest the $3.5 billion it will take to extend unemployment benefits for an additional 27 weeks. for 14 months, she's relied on the government for $375 a week, $1,500 a month, money that went toward feeding her family, caring for her elderly mother and paying for her prescription drugs. >> i suffer with high blood

pressure, and being stressful, and not working, and still looking for employment, that's very stressful. >> she was laid off in october, 2012. she was an executive assistant and a non-profit organization, a job she held for more than 11 years. the search for her next job has turned into a search for a new career. >> i see that now by being unemployed that for so long, and you know, a lot of times you say to yourself, i have the experience to do this and there are so many jobs out there in my field so why am i not called no. >> even if benefits are extended for her and the other long term unemployed, it's a short term solution. aljazeera, new york. >> last month, 1.3 million americans lost their unemployment benefits. that senate bill would extend benefits for three months at the

cost of $6.5 billion. >> jarred lee loughner is serving seven life times. gifford talked about her struggle and thoughts on gun control, writing that we will seize on consensus where it exists on solutions big or small, we will fight for every inch, because that means saving lives. >> a deadly strain of the flu bug is back. what health officials want you to know to keep safe. >> they are calling it basketball diplomacy, an unusual birthday present for north korea's leader from his north american pall, dennis rodman. >> our own john siegenthaler going one-on-one with steven colbert. >> they offered me the chance to anchor a newscast, unbiased reports. >> oh, come on!

this is aljazeera!

>> good morning, welcome back to aljazeera make. i'm del walters. just ahead, flu season has officially arrived and bringing with it a particularly strong strain of the virus. we'll tell you what health officials say you need to know. first, let's find out how cold or warm it is going to be where you are today. >> you had it right the first time, how cold it's going to be for you today. still very chilly temperatures, single digits in the northeast to teens in portion of the south. a slight warm up from yesterday's temperatures, but overall, till well below average in some cases 15-30 degrees below average. for the rest of the day, the southwest in the 40's after all those records set for cold eight, some negatives still in the midwest. let's jump right to the good news. the high pressure that has been sucking in cold air will move off the coastline. that's on the backside, bringing us air from the south and that is really going to help warm things up. into the 40's, back into the

northeast, 30's in the midwest where we started the week at negative 50 wind chills, that's going to be 80 degrees, feeling warmer toward the day on friday, so some hope in sight. back to you. >> thousands of african may go grants in israel are taking to the streets today demanding asylum and better rights from the israeli government. a lot of migrants come from other countries fleeing prosecution and deserve refugee stat with us according to them, but the israeli government says they are just migrants looking for works. we are live in jerusalem. nick, give us a sense of the scale of the protest behind you there. >> this is an absolutely unprecedented protest by these african may go grants. there are about 10,000 people behind me. there's only 60,000 african may go grants in the country, so one in six are here today, and what

they're asking for is to be treated with humanity, dignity and respect, asking the israeli government to consider them refugees, to give them asylum. the israelis say you are here for work and not only that, you're infiltrators, the words the israelis are usinging. these people are saying the places we're coming from, we can't go back, we would be killed, jim prisoned, we have no where else to go. you can hear them saying no more prison. there's new laws in israeli that allows the government to throw these people into a detention facility in the desert. these people are saying we're just asking for a safe place to live. >> the issue of criminality is not an issue for those who are on the wrong side of the law to define. are these people in israel legally? >> no, they're not here legally. they are here illegally and they will actually say that.

the israeli government agrees with that. what they are here is to apply for asylum, here to become refugees. in that sense, they're not the legal immigrants as we would define someone who hops over a border. they look for a safe place to have a safe place to live. some are with families, some alone. all they want or so they say is the government to give them the space, the ability to apply for asylum and apply to become refugees. the government has flary refused. a lot of those asylum requests, the government says we simply don't have the space and all of these people can't prove properly that they're refugees. that's where the u.n. says look, we're going to try to talk to the government, both sides and see if we can come up with solutions that everyone agrees with in that these people say they are not going to leave, they are not going to stop this strike until the israeli government changes its policies. >> do we have any idea why they chose israeli and is it true

that they are being locked up? >> the first question is absolute they very important, a lot of these people actually chose egypt first and were in cairo, millionion of african refugees in cairo. the conditions there are much worse. these people do not feel safe in cairo. they went through the sinai desert, a real no man's lands, very dangerous, they have to use smugglers and pay a lot of money. there's not a lot of government in sinai, so they have to make real big risks to get here. that's why they say look, we risked to get here, this is the safest place in the region for us, that is why we want to be considered asylum seekers. >> nick, thank you very much. >> the flu bug is spreading like wildfire across the country. about half of the states now reporting cases. we are in washington where the c.d.c. now warning that even the

young and healthy have cause for concern. daniel. >> del, good morning. this years flu is unimpressive strain, in addition to the elderly and sick who typically are at risk, this is striking young, healthy adults. state health officials are warning this year's flu looks a lot like the 2009 strain that killed thousands. the h1n1 virus means even the healthy are at risk. >> a lot of people previously healthy are getting very sick with flu. >> in minnesota, state officials say at least 96 people have been hospitalized just this week, and in texas, at least 19 people have died. an expecting mother in florida has died, according to state officials. at least four our pregnant women have been hospitalized. medicaid is offering to pay for the flu shots of expecting moms. >> we as pregnant women are afraid of everything. >> the centers for disease

control is reporting widespread flu activity in 25 states. doctors are advising everyone to get vaccinated, especially the elderly, pregnant and sick. >> did you put it in already? >> yes! >> many parents like this texas dad aren't taking any chances. >> the kids going to school, they may bring it home. >> doctors warn the flu season is just getting going and activity will likely get worse as we get closer to february. >> to protect yourself, doctors say first get the flu shot, eat healthy, get enough rest and be good about washing your hands. >> danielle, thank you very much. >> in business news, there is breaking news on the economic front, a welcoming surprise in the jobs picture. it is reported 238,000 jobs were created in december, well above estimates that came in around 200,000. november figures being revised

higher, as well. the report is a prelude to the closely watched monthly jobs report, the labor department releasing that report friday. later this afternoon, the fed release in the minutes from its last meeting. that could give us more insight into the decision to begin pulling back on the bond buying stimulus program. the fed begins trimming this months. that so far, wall street not building on yesterday's rally, the dow down 18 points this hour. the s&p standing at 1837 and the nasdaq at 4,158. >> in asia, the markets ending the day mostly higher, the nikkei snapping its two day losing streak. european markets are loafer after unemployment data showed little improvement. >> j.p. morgan chase and other

big banks could be looking at another probe for what they did after the financial crisis, investigators looking into whether the banks intentionally mistyped the type of mortgage bond that was central to the economic meltdown. eight banks are being looked at over sales of residential mortgage backed securities from 2009 to 2011. >> butter is back in style. the american butter institute saying consumption hit a 40 year high in 2012, the average person eating 5.6 pounds of butter, that is a 25% increase over the last decade. the renaissance coming as consumers turn to more natural foods and stay away from transfats. >> burglars breaking into an f.b.i. office in california stealing classified documents and then leaking them to the world, those documents making headlines dealing in counter intelligence program and surveillance. the i.d.'s of the burglars

remained a mystery until now. we talked to one of the culprits. >> long before edward snowden, there was the daring and until now undisclosed f.b.i. break in. it was in 1971 at the agencies suburban philadelphia office. a group of anti war activists entered undercover of darkness and left with top secret government documents. more than 1,000 pages of classified information were taken. the thieves were never found until they decided to come forward. >> well, i was one of eight members of something called the citizens commission to investigate the f.b.i. the reason citizens had to investigate the f.b.i. is that people down in washington were terrified of j. edgar hoover. >> 43 years later, the burglars are revealing what they did and why. >> and took all the files from the office, took those out, put

them in those five suitcases, took the suitcases out to a car, and left for a safe house, a farm. >> the group comprised of three professors, a cab driver, and a day care center worker say they were on a mission to expose illegal activities by the f.b.i. >> they used the instruments of massive surveillance, in if i am days, in formers, infiltrators, in order to take the voice of dissent away from dissent. >> john drove the get away car. >> all of a sudden, you heard shouts from around the house, oh, look and it is this, look at this one, look and it is this one. we found some very incriminating files. >> the story of the heist is now the subject of a documentary and a new book by the first reporter to get the documents in her mailbox. >> the f.b.i. was never the same again. >> they kept their silence for a

decade. >> we had to do what the folks we elected to do for us couldn't do. >> and now, they're talking. >> that f.b.i. break in led to regulations that restricted government surveillance of u.s. citizens. many of those regulations were active until 9/11. >> taking aim at president obama, what former defense secretary robert gates had to say about his olds boss in his new tell-all book. >> it is the biggest question in politics, will hillary clinton run for president again or won't she no we'll talk to a reporter about a secret shadow campaign some of her supporters are now running. >> millions of americans living paycheck to paycheck. we take a closer look at a special series on the working poor. >> hall of fame voters set to wag their fingers again at perceived cheaters, we look back at baseball's steroid era, ahead in sports.

radioactive water, leaking into the pacific eververyday? >> join america tonight's michael okwu for an exclusive four part series, as we return to fukushima only on al jazeera america real reporting that brings you the world. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. here are the stories making news at this hour. most of the nation waking up to a third straight day of frigid temperatures, tuesday's brutal conditions crippling transportation on air and roads. schools shut down by the hundreds and businesses suffering, as well. forecasters say the worst should be over in the next day or two. >> thousands of migrants are posting in israel, saying they are fleeing persecution and deserve refugee status. the israeli government says they are economic migrants in search of work. >> the nat now debating a three month stepping of unemployment benefits for americans out of woke for more than six months. republican lawmakers say the plan which has the support of president obama will have to be paid for making cuts to other

programs. >> former defense secretary robert gates led the pentagon and the war in afghanistan. now he's taking aim at his old boss, president obama, and unexplosive in some say candid new book. we take a closer look at washington's latest tell-all. >> at the end of 2009, u.s. president bo told the nation it was time to renew the fight against the toll ban in afghanistan. >> i have determine that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 u.s. troops to afghanistan. after 18 months, our troops will begin to come home. >> but behind closed doors, the former defense secretary said the president waffled about fighting a just war. in his new book, robert gates who served during the presidency also of george w. bush accused white house staffers of undermining president obama's resolve by criticizing general david petraeus.

the afghan president and the idea of a troop surge. >> i that the president doesn't trust his commander, karzai, doesn't believe in his own strategy. for him, it's all about getting out. >> it is suggested the book is as much about settling scores as establish ago record of his 45 years in government. he has harsh words for joe biden. >> i think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades. >> gates accuses white house staffers of micro managing and being controls about war. he admits he was opposed to the raid that led to osama bin laden's death in 2011. some observers say gates' frankness should not be a surprise. >> former secretary gates is

above the fray. that he knows he'll never serve in washington again. he served for a number of administrations on both sides of the aisle. everybody who investigated bob gates breakfast selected for these jobs knew what they were getting. >> a white house spokesperson defended the afghanistan policy. given that gates is nearly 70 years old and officially retired, it is possible he doesn't care what anyone thinks, even a president whose intellect and judgment gates says he admires. aljazeera, washington. >> the white house releasing a statement in response reinforcing the president's trust in vice president biden saying: >> when hillary clinton stepped

down at secretary of state, the talk immediately turned to a presidential bid in 2016. officially, she said she hasn't made up her mind but few believe that. now there is word of a clinton shadow campaign. we are joined from washington, d.c. this morning. good morning. >> good morning. >> what is a shadow campaign? >> it's been very interesting to see this play out over the last several months. what we've seen develop is a campaign in waiting, seeing the emergence of super pac groups, some focused on big dean nors, energizing that the grassroots all popping up and all focused on the possibility of a 2016 clinton run, but of course, the step we haven't seen is indication from her whether or not she is going to run.

>> does this shadow campaign solidify anything really that we didn't know? she's running. >> she indicated that 2014 is going to be a pivotal year for her deciding her next step. she said she will possibly make a decision about 2016. we are seeing groups ramping up. >> that was just in 2013 and so it's all sort of an indication of how much they're sort of is from outside groups in a possible 2016 bid from clinton. >> since we were journalists, we have to assume that she is not running right now, but if she runs, the polls show that she would win. look at some of the polls right now, showing that she is leading each and every republican favorite, chris christie being the closest, she leads him by

three percentage points, so is a a clinton campaign a legitimate cause for panic among republicans no. >> well, you know, r.n.c. chairman sort of addressed this, saying that hillary clinton would perhaps be beatable. he talked about how scandal surrounds her, that was sort of the phrase that he used, you know, and at the same time, republicans really are treating her as if she's a candidate all right. they seem to be taking her seriously, but at the same time, they have indicated that they are ready to go to bat if she is in fact the nominee. of course, we'll have a very interesting primary on their side and perhaps on the democratic side, as well. it is certainly possible that other possible contenders will emerge. >> isn't one of the key reasons behind a shad toe campaign to freeze the funds of anyone running against you. if i give you 50 bucks, i don't have 50 bucks to give to your opponent.

>> it's certainly been interesting, because we have seen some of these groups reaching out pretty early to tap into donor networks, whether at the high dollar donor level or more grassroots level. at the same time, kind of the end of last year, we saw a lot of interest and a possible presidential run from elizabeth warren from the left. she said she's not running, but that does national a sense among some who would be interested in seeing kind of a broader array of options. >> one other question, are they talking in washington at all about the age of hillary clinton, 66 now. she will be 68 if she became president. when a male runs for political office, that becomes a question, are they too old. is anyone talking about her age no. >> well, what has come up has been related to hear health.

people say that is not an issue, she's in great heal, but at the same time, last year, there was that issue of a blood clot white when she was set to testify. that's raise said some concerns but her people say she is doing fine and that's not something to worry about there. one thing you do hear about from time to time is the question of whether there are when new voices and names that could emerge, as well. >> katey is a reporter for politico. thank you very much. >> this week marks the 50t 50th affairs of president lyndon b. johnson's declaration of a war on poverty. in the years since, there has been progress in bridging the economic divide, but there's still a long way to go. today one in six americans still lives blow the poverty line. that is nearly 50 million people. we went to one of the poorest neighborhoods in florida to see what is being done to help those most in need.

>> supporting the wilson family of five on 1600 to $2,000 a month requires a kind of financial shuffle, paying some bills, delaying others and worrying about every approximate hey. >> if this little bit of income we have leaves, where will i be at? will i be at the door, out the door with my kids. >> she is a single working mom, a nationally certified medical assistant, but she can't find work in her field, so she's waitressing, earning $4.33 plus tips. >> it kind of makes me feel discouraged sometimes but then when i look at my kids, i can't get discouraged, so i have to do something. >> she pace $130 a month for her apartment and relies on food stamps. it's a life she shares with her four daughters, ages four through 10 and her fiancee, who helps pain the bills. wilson didn't grow up in public housing. she doesn't want this to be

anything more than a brief pit stop on the way to a better life for her daughters. >> they live here in miami, one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in florida. it's also a neighborhood full of families with similar dreams, colliding against the harsh realities of their surroundings and circumstances. >> cecilia is a symbol of what's possible. she broke the cycle and now runs the non-profit miami childrens initiative. she says 50 years after president johnson declared a war on poverty, the battle rages on for far to many i don't people do not have the courage or the will to actually address the challenges of these urban communities. we have allowed ourselves to be ok with savinging some and not all. >> in the last year, miami children's initiative built a

play ground and this block by block approach show people they matter, but most importantly, the goal is to ensure kids get that ticket out of post at a gutierrez did, a a college education. >> children can do almost everything. i think if every community challenges that and says in our block, on these streets, in this community, our children are going to be the future, not the ones at the bottom, i think we would see it differently. >> she was unable to afford gas for the commute to her job and was forced to quit. aljazeera, miami. >> california has the highest number of poor people followed by washington, d.c., nevada and florida. >> secretary of state john kerry says the u.s. is firmly united with south korea in opposition to north koreas missile

programs. >> we will not accept north korea as a nuclear state, nor as a nuclear armed state, and nor will the international community abide about i that. >> right now, there are 20,000 american troops stations in south korea. >> basketball hall of famer dennis rodman giving his friend north korean leader kim jong-un a birthday present. rodman leading a group of former nba players in a game against the north korean team, held in honor of kim jong-un's 30t 30th birthday. >> baseball hall of fame set to announce its newest member in the age of steroids. >> more debate, today, the

results of the 2014 hall of fame vote will be released. i feel safe in saying that they will vote in more players to cooperstown than last year, when they didn't deem any candidates worthy for the first time since 1996. it's looking like a lot of guys will be deemed wordy this year. for the first time since 1936, five players have a real chance of getting the needed votes to get in. it is believed that first time candidates greg maddux and frank thomas are all shoo-ins. catcher mike piazza is less of a sure thing. pitcher jack morris looks to be short again. he got 68% last year.

guys like clements, bonds, and sosa had no shot, despite great tats. they remain tainted by repeated ped allegation. >> the steroid era had a huge impact last year on hall of fame voting. no one made it in. it wasn't much of a surprise, considering so many first time candidates were linked to steroid use such asbury bonds, mark mcguire and sammy sosa along with roger clements and rafael palmero. mike piazza was never confirmed, but rumors were rampant enough that he addressed them in his autobiography saying: >> eligible is four time cy

young award winner maddux and frank the big hurt thomas who blasting 521 homers with a .301 batting average was outspoken against p.e.d. users calling for banning them from the hall. tom glavin with 305 wins over his pitching career, but the trend of players with agree numbers being kept out due to suspicion will be a yearly ritual until the steroid era cycles through the record books. jessica taft, aljazeera. >> to the hardwood, it's been nearly 40 years since the golden state warriors won an nba championship. this season, they play like they want that streak to end. packers quarterback aaron rodgers was on hand as the warriors won their 10th game in a row. david lee hit his first nine shots on way to an 18 rebound

night. seth curry, reverse action effort, that is nice, part of a 20 throw-7 warriors run. they beat the bucks 101-80. >> in two seasons of college football, all johnny manziel has done is win a heisman and elevate himself as one of the most exciting players. you can certainly understand if he feels he has nothing left to prove on campus. reports are he will make it known today whether or not he'll enter may's nfl draft. espn reports that he has already signed with an agency to represent him. he has also signed with a marketing agency owned by the childhood friend of basketball star lebron james. >> somehow, i get the feeling he is leaving. >> still ahead, you can calm it the great ver velveeta mystery. what is behind the disappearance

of this cheese. >> who got to you and how? >> our own john siegenthaler goes toe-to-toe with steven colbert. >> we have a big warm up for parts of the country and more rain for the northwest. i'll have your forecast, coming up.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. straight ahead, we'll tell you about cops and firefighters in new york city collecting disability benefits, suggesting they suffered physical and mental anguish after 9/11. find out why dozens are now under arrest, but first let's finds out where it's going to snow and rain. >> as we look across the country, we have the big area that moved in all that cold air has also been cranking snow around the great lakes. the winds will shift, warming us up. into the midwest, this area of snow in places like missouri right now, getting far enough south that we could get warm air mixing in for light freezing

precipitation. watch the bridges and overpasses in arkansas. the northwest and northern rockies become unsettled, rain lower elevations, snow higher elevations. they recommend the chains in some cases. you have to put those on, try it at home first instead of on the side of the snowy road for the first time. >> pope francis touring st. peter's square. he waved at the crowds and kissed babies, along the way have iting a priest and cameraman to hop inside the pope mobile, which is usually a no no against the rules. >> more than 100 retired city workers including members of the nypd now under arrest charged with faking mental disabilities, cashing in on one of the dark have days in american history, the 9/11 attacks. we explain. >> it's a scam authorities say cost taxpayers close to half a billion dollars, more than 100 suspects among them new york city cops and firefighters are

charged with falsely claiming to suffer from post traumatic stress, making them unable to work and instead cashing in federal disability checks. >> i can only express disgust. >> prosecutors say four ringleaders, including two lawyers and two cops helped the suspects lie and fake their mental disabilities, half of them blaming the world trade center attacks so they could receive social security disability pensions totallies tens of thousands of dollars a year each. the investigation uncovered everyday like this, a former police officer working as a martial arts instructor while claiming to be so mentally and physically disabled, he could not work any job. he collected near half a million dollars in disability payments. another claimed he could not go outside, but here he is on a jet ski. he collected $175,000 in disability. yet another excused, seen fishing in coasta rocca. >> many said they could no

longer drive or be out of the house for a short walk around the block. the investigation revealed lifestyles that were very different. >> it was discovered many of the officers who claimed their injuries were the result of their service on 9/11 were not even at ground zero the day of the terror attacks. officials calling it a slap in the face to the real heroes, the men and women who risked their lives on september 11 and their families. george's brother, steven, a firefighter was killed in the attacks. >> the firefighters and police that i know were digging on the pile right after 9/11 to rescue and then to recover and many are dying today from the cancer, so it puts a mark against people like that who are so dedicated and it truly represent what the fire and police are. >> social security officials say they have stopped the disability payments to all those charged. now officials are trying to figure out how to get all the money back. >> many of these individuals purchased vehicles and vacation homes throughout the united states, so we're going to chase

down every penny. >> the district attorney understands the indictments are justify the beginning and another round of arrests could be coming in the next few weeks. >> prosecutors say the average annual payment was between $30,000 and $50,000, many of those charged also collecting pensions from the police and fire departments at the same time. >> health odd volunteer coats are marking the 50t 50th anniversary of the landmark ruling on smoking and health. they call for action to protect people from tobacco. the c.d.c. says no single report has had such a large in flu ebbs on public health. that since that study, smoking rates in the u.s. dropped by 59%. 8 million lives have been saved since that landmark surgeon general report. despite those efforts, nearly 42 million americans still smoke, and more than 5 million people die each year around the

world from smoking-related illnesses. >> craft food warrants of a velveeta food shortage, flying off the shelves and no further shipments until february. craft is not giving reason for the shortage, suggesting the product is just seasonal. >> in a manner of speaking, you could say aljazeera america has now officially arrived. our prime time anchor john siegenthaler joining mocked right wing commentator on his show. colbert gave john and aljazeera perhaps a right to passage for america's youngest news team. >> from the start, steven colbert pulls no punches. >> that is terrifying. honing in on what many americans have long associated with the aljazeera brand. >> this is the network where bin laden used to send his gloating tapes. >> aljazeera america is part of

the aljazeera media network. >> which is part of the al-qaeda media network? >> but aljazeera america's prime time anchor john siegenthaler made the case for the newest kid on the mainstream media block. >> we can bust some myths here. aljazeera america is one of the largest news organizations in the world. >> ok. >> we have 71 bureaus around the world, 12 in the united states. we do serious fact-based journalism u.ism. >> lead story tonight, what? >> syria. >> ok. miley cyrus has bleached her eyebrows, though. >> celebrity news notwithstanding, colbert sought to place aljazeera on the political spectrum. >> what is your angle, what is the grift over there? is it liberal or fair and balanced? >> we just cover the news. it's more about opinion, a lot more sensational and a lot more about celebrity and that is not where building channel is headed. >> a serious question and a serious answer. >> how do you keep people from

being afraid of this? >> all i can do is say watch what we do, and i think if they see what we do on the air and they see the stories that we can you have, they will, i think they'll understand that we're doing serious news. >> well, john, i think -- [ cheers and applause ] >> you can watch the entire interview at colbertnation.com and catch john siegenthaler right here on aljazeera america weeknights at 8:00 a understand 11:00 eastern time. >> thanks for joining us. remember there is always news at the top of the hour right here, so stay tuned. answers to the questions no one else will ask. >> it seems like they can't agree to anything in washington no matter what. hearing this i'm sure from patients.

does big pharma impact the doctors in their decision to not offer alternatives to the pill here? >> i think that there is evidence that if you have interactions with pharmaceutical companies, it does impact -- and there's actually pretty good studies based -- that have looked at physician prescribing patterns and interactions with big pharma. i think one of the luxuries i have is i'm in academic medicine, and we have a policy that we don't interact with pharmaceutical companies. so i hope that gives me a better perspective. and i think a lot of these doctors aren't having these conversations with their patients because i have countless patients who come to me and said they have never heard of iud's.

so i think there is some impact of that. we know there's an impact of that. and it makes it challenging, you know, to -- to have a completely unbiased view even though we as doctors like to think we have an unbiased view, there has been evidence that shows that they do impact us in some ways. so i think it's important for us to go out and educate our providers too. there is no one size fits all birth control, and there are a lot of options that work for women. >> we want to take a closer look, are there unique challenges facing women in minority communities when